Puiatti Wines Simplicity Is Greatness
When Cantina Puiatti was founded in 1967, there was only one goal: celebrate the purity and varietal character of Friuli’s indigenous grapes and the international varieties that also thrive there. In fact, the winery’s philosophy, “Nature loves simplicity, as simplicity is the form of greatness,” is oft repeated and reflected in every wine they craft.
The estate is now part of the prestigious Angelini Wines & Estates, helmed by Andrea Lonardi, MW, who has continued to carry the torch for exceptional Italian winemaking with minimal intervention and an emphasis on terroir. And what terroir it is …
The Puiatti vineyards are located in two of Friuli’s most important wine producing areas: Collio and Isonzo. The territory is like an open window, welcoming cooling, fresh winds down from the Balkans and warmer Adriatic influences up from the south — combined with long sunshine hours, these influences help ripen the grapes slowly, preserving their natural acidity. Careful farming supports biodiversity and minimizes the vineyard’s impact on the planet.
Precision, planning, imagination, and poetry: Cantina Puiatti’s distinctive style and approach to Italian winemaking delivers the purest expression of the great whites of Friuli. As they say, the Puiatti portfolio of wines is made from emotion, charm, and harmony — the fruit of passionate viticultural research.
Terroir
Wines from the Friuli region are known for their freshness, structure, and precision. And Puiatti’s wines perfectly reflect these characteristics.
Perched on hillsides in Collio and Isonzo, two of the most respected parts of the region, the vines receive both cold winds from the Balkans and warm breezes from the Adriatic. This creates a significant temperature shift between day and night and imparts both northern Italian and Mediterranean influences to the wines. The well-draining alluvial soils have an underlying gravelly layer covered by reddish clay rich in ferrous oxide. The combination adds complex minerality to the wines.
Viticulture
A vineyard is like a person — unique and deserving of its own voice. Puiatti’s wines not only respect those voices, they amplify their stories to the world. A majority of the estate’s vines are in Isonzo. The 50-hectare/124-acre parcel of gravelly hillside is home to their sauvignon blanc, pinot grigio, friulano, chardonnay, and ribolla gialla. The vines (which have an average age of 14 years) are fertilized with organic manure and only irrigated when weather conditions deem it absolutely vital. Vineyard managers begin with biological controls for insects and participate in programs designed to replenish biodiversity. Most trellising is done in the Guyot system.
The Next Level of Minimal Intervention
Cantina Puiatti’s approach to producing wines is defined by what they do not do: no oak, no over-ripening, no maceration, no inoculation, and no oxidation. This simple approach in limiting intervention results in extraordinarily complex wines, which showcase variety, typicity, and purity. Additionally, their focus on aromatics gives each wine a distinctive identity: elegance, refreshingly low alcohol, zero residual sugar, and a trademark finesse that not only gives the wines longevity but makes them oh-so easy to enjoy.
